Episode 808 - 9 Chefs Compete Part 2
The eighth episode of Season 8 of Hell’s Kitchen aired on FOX, on October 13, 2010, airing as a double feature alongside the seventh episode. On that episode, Hell's Kitchen celebrated its 100th dinner service, and one team fell apart during service. Intro Back in the dorms, Rob was relieved to have survived elimination, but he and Vinny knew that Russell nominated him only to get him rattled, and both of them agreed to get rid of Russell. Meanwhile, Sabrina asked Jillian why she nominated her, and while Jillian said that she did not know who else to vote for, Sabrina rudely dismissed it. That caused Jillian to call Sabrina both a baby and the weakest link of the red team since day one, while adding that she was sick and tired of carrying her. Then, Jillian told Nona and Gail that there was no way Sabrina could win Hell’s Kitchen, which Nona agreed while suggesting that they let Sabrina sink herself. Team challenge The next morning, Sous Chef Scott phoned to the dorms, and ordered everybody to head to the SUVs. The chefs were taken to Bristol Farms where they were greeted by Ramsay. He explained that for the Budget Challenge, both teams would be making four dishes, using beef, pork, lamb, and chicken as their proteins. Each chef was responsible for cooking their own dish, and because the red team had an extra person, Jillian and Gail were paired on a dish. After, Ramsay told the chefs that they had a $60 budget, and 20 minutes to shop for their ingredients. As both teams gathered their ingredients, Russell kept the blue team from moving away from him, much to their annoyance. Meanwhile, Sabrina tried to voice out her suggestions, but the red team ignored her. Eventually, both teams got their ingredients in time and, while the blue team got on their budget mark, the red team exceeded their budget, and were forced to remove the expensive lentils Sabrina wanted. When the team came back to Hell's Kitchen, they had 45 minutes to cook their dishes. Jillian expressed concern for Sabrina as lentils took 45 minutes to cook, and despite the red team offering their help, Sabrina refused it as she wanted to show Ramsay what she was capable. In the blue kitchen, Russell checked on his teammates' dishes as he was determined to win the challenge, but Rob called him a douchebag. Eventually, both teams got their dishes cooked and plated in time. For the judging, Mark Peel, Sophie Gayot, Libby Rego, and Justin Wyborn were invited as guest judges. Each judge would give what they would pay for each dish, and the team with the highest total would be the winner. On the first round, Nona and Rob presented their beef dishes, judged by Gayot. Nona’s pan-seared ribeye with parsnip purée, sautéed broccolini and red wine balsamic reduction was praised for its tender ribeye, but was criticized for the broccolini’s poor presentation, while Rob’s grilled New York strip with crispy shitake mushrooms was praised for being light, but criticized for having too many onions on it. In the end, Gayot said that she would pay $32 for Nona’s dish and $26 for Rob’s dish, putting the red team in the lead $32-$26. On the next round, Peel judged Boris and Gail's pork dishes. Boris’ marinated pork tenderloin with stirfry was praised for its color, but was criticized for having dry pork, while Gail and Jillian’s pan-seared pork tenderloin with roasted beets and shallots was praised for its beets, but said that the pork was bland. In the end, Peel said that he would pay $28 for Gail and Jillian’s dish and $26 for Boris’ dish, and the score was $60-$52 for the red team, as a concerned Russell hoped that he and Vinny could pull it out. On the third round, Rego judged, and Russell and Trev presented their chicken dishes. Russell’s chicken cacciatore with rustic potatoes was praised for having a juicy chicken, but was criticized for having undercooked potatoes, while Trev’s lemon roasted chicken breast was praised for having a crispy skin, but criticized for having undercooked carrots. In the end, Rego said that she would pay $22 for Trev’s dish and $26 for Russell’s dish, making the score $82-$78 for the red team. On the final round, Sabrina and Vinny presented their lamb dishes, with Wyborn judging. Sabrina’s lamb with lentils, carrots, and red wine sauce was praised for the perfectly cooked lamb and the sauce, Wyborn said that he did not order anything with lentils, but liked the flavor. Vinny’s round bone lamb chop with red potato was praised for having flavor, but was criticized for having a mediocre presentation. In the end, Wyborn said he would pay $23 for Vinny’s dish and $28 for Sabrina. The red team won the challenge $110-$101, and Sabrina was proud to have redeemed herself in the eyes of her team. Reward The red team was rewarded with a sail boat trip, and a waterfront dinner at the Maya hotel. During the dinner, Trev told the women that they have proven that he was on the right team, and apologized for not trusting them before. However, that comment did not sit well with Jillian as she claimed that the red team was a kickass team before Trev came, and said that he did not help them win the challenge. Later, the red team got some salsa lessons. Punishment The blue team was punished by deep cleaning the dining room, and fumigating both kitchens for a black-tie dinner service. While Russell was pissed that he was punished for his teammates' failures, Rob was pissed that he had to clean, and Vinny was embarrassed to have lost to Sabrina, who he considered the most inexperienced chef on the red team. During the punishment, Rob barely helped as he was still pissed that they lost, and openly said that he hated losing. While fumigating the kitchens, Rob split his jumpsuit, which Vinny knew would happen eventually. When the red team came back from their reward, Rob was still pissed, and rudely told them to leave. Before service The next day, both teams prepped their kitchens for the black-tie dinner service, but a still frustrated Russell decided to micromanage his teammates' prep work in order to win, and called Boris unfocused. However, Boris said that Russell was not acting like a leader, but more like a dick, and was getting tired of his attitude. In the red kitchen, Trev gave his teammates the cold shoulder due to the comments from the reward, causing Jillian to ask if he was on his period. However, Sabrina was happy that the negative focus was off her, while being transferred to Trev. After, Sous Chef Scott led both teams outside, where Ramsay was waiting for them. Then, Ramsay explained that the black-tie dinner service was actually a celebration for the 100th Hell's Kitchen dinner service, which excited Nona as she felt honored. After showing them a blimp that was advertising the 100th dinner service, Ramsay said that it was a night that he wanted both teams to be perfect, while revealing that chefs tables would be hosted for some very special guests that had a strong connection to Hell’s Kitchen. Then, a limousine showed up, and the VIP guests were Season 3 winner Rock, Season 4 winner Christina, Season 5 winner Danny, and Season 7 winner Holli. After telling the chefs to use the winner's presence as inspiration, the chefs came back to their kitchens, as Ramsay asked James to open Hell’s Kitchen for the 100th time. Dinner service The 100th dinner service featured an elegant menu, with Sabrina serving each guest a welcoming plate of caviar. Some notable guests were in attendance, such as Lesley Bargar Suter, Iqbal Theba, Patrick Gallagher, Hugh Garvey, and Sarah Tenaglia. As the blue team got their first order, Boris said that he could get his capellini in eight minutes, but his teammates asked him for five minutes instead. Rob decided to help Boris, and because of his help, the capellini was accepted. However, Boris still gave six minutes on the next ticket instead of five, like Russell wanted. In the red kitchen, Nona's initial risottos were accepted, but she decided to use a recycled one for the next table after asking Gail for her opinion, much to Jillian’s dismay as Ramsay would never accept that. Indeed, Ramsay noticed it and lectured the red team that the customers deserved better than that, though Nona blamed Gail for that. Despite that, Nona’s fresh refire was accepted, and the customers from the red kitchen enjoyed their appetizers. Thirty minutes into service, James led the former winners to the kitchen after they took a look back from the memory lane on the cake, with Rock and Christina eating in the blue kitchen, and Danny and Holli eating in the red one. As Vinny took Rock and Christina’s order, Ramsay noticed that Boris did not have a risotto on even though that took longer to cook than a capellini, and warned Boris that he would go ballistic. As Boris struggled to focus, Russell called him a brain dead fuck, while Rob decided to help Boris again. Because of Rob's help, Boris was able to push more appetizers to the dining room. In the red kitchen, Trev was confident on the garnish station, but soon fell apart when he did not have his garnishes ready. Gail sent her Wellingtons, which Ramsay praised for being above the bar, but when Trev sent his gnocchi, it was raw, and an angry Ramsay ordered him to wake up. Despite that, the red customers were enjoying their entrées, while one of the blue diners complained about an overcooked lobster. James sent back three lobster tail dishes from the same table, and Russell told Vinny to stay focused. In the red kitchen, Jillian sent her lobster tails, but was waiting on Trev’s garnishes, and as he continued to struggle, Danny and Holli believed that he might be going home. Sabrina told Trev that he could not serve his burnt carrots, but Trev talked back, before asking for help. However, Ramsay noticed that Nona and Sabrina were helping Trev, and annoyingly ordered Gail and Jillian to come and help as well, though Trev’s squash was burning up despite the help. In the blue kitchen, Vinny managed to rebound from his earlier mistake as Boris served Rock and Christina their entrées. Rob asked Russell for times, but got no response, and complained that he was not getting any help. That forced Rob to drag the chicken for eight minutes due to not hearing the order earlier, and the dining room felt the effect. In the red kitchen, Sabrina served Danny and Holli their entrées, but Trev was still struggling on garnishes. A finally fed up Ramsay kicked Trev out of the kitchen to get fresh air outside, and relocated Nona to the garnish station. Without Trev, the red team got more together, and despite jumping into a mess, Nona was able to serve acceptable garnishes as entrées were flying out of the red kitchen. In the blue kitchen, Rob was still struggling with the chicken, and called four more minutes, but Ramsay informed him that the red team only had one ticket left to fire, while the blue team had nine tickets left due to his earlier mistakes. An impatient Vinny sent his lobster tails, but Ramsay and Sous Chef Scott found that they were mush, and Ramsay ranted how Boris dragged the appetizers, Rob dragged the meat entrées, and how Vinny sent a poor lobster tail. Then, Rob sent pink chicken, and a fed up Ramsay kicked the blue team out of the kitchen. Meanwhile, James convinced Trev to go back to the red kitchen, and Ramsay urged him to wake up. After finishing their last ticket, the red team completed the blue team’s tickets, and managed to save one of the most important nights of the season. Post-mortem After service, while Ramsay told the red team that they were the obvious winners, he was disappointed with Trev’s poor performance. Then, Ramsay told the returning blue team that they were the obvious losers, and called each of them embarrassing, before asking them to nominate two people for elimination. As the blue team was defeated by their loss, the women on the red team celebrated their victory, though Trev was disappointed with his poor performance. Despite Jillian and Sabrina telling him that he should have asked for help, Trev responded that he got yelled at by them, and called Sabrina a bitch. That led to an argument between both of them, until Nona calmed the situation down as they could not afford to fall apart like the blue team. Meanwhile, Russell voted for Boris and Vinny for their problems, but Boris voted for Russell and Rob. However, Rob nominated Boris and Vinny, but Vinny nominated Rob for not communicating with him, and Boris for struggling on appetizers. In the end, Boris was the first nominee for receiving three votes, while Rob and Vinny were tied at two votes each. Elimination As the blue team came downstairs, Ramsay said that their supposed dream performance turned into an embarrassment. While Rob announced that Boris was the blue team’s first nominee, he struggled on the second nominee, until he announced that it was a tie between himself and Vinny. An annoyed Ramsay asked why the tie, and while Rob said that Vinny’s station was dragging hard, Vinny said that Rob’s dragging on the meat station screwed him up. However, Ramsay reminded Rob and Vinny that they both screwed up on the last four tables, and called both of them down, along with Boris. After listening to their pleas, Ramsay eliminated Boris for his string of poor performances, but before he left, he praised him for his big heart and passion. After Boris left, Ramsay sent Vinny and Rob back in line, but then, announced that he was not done yet, and called Trev down, ending the episode in a cliffhanger. Ramsay gave no comment on Boris’ elimination, and he did not receive the coat hanging and burning picture sequence. Category:Season 8 Category:Episodes